FALCONIFORMES. 359 



the summer, one pair keeping off fresh arrivals for some 

 distance round their "eyrie.'' Peregrines are undoubtedly- 

 injurious to game. Their chief food consists of grouse, par- 

 tridges, ducks, pigeons, kestrels, and various other birds, and 

 perhaps where this falcon is abundant there is some excuse 

 for destroying it. 



The Sparroiv -haioh {Accipitm- nisus). — The sparrow-hawk 

 belongs to another genus, Accipitei: This genus is characterised 

 by the bill bending from the base, and by the cutting margin 

 of the upper mandible having a distinct festoon ; the wings 

 are short and the legs long and slender, the claws being curved 

 and very sharp, the middle toe long and slender. The sparrow- 

 hawk is a very common bird throughout Great Britain in wooded 

 districts. The male is slaty-blue above, buff below, barred with 

 tawny-brown ; the tail is brown with three to five dark bars ; 

 the cere is greenish-yellow, and the legs yellow. The female 

 has a greyish breast barred with brown, and is much larger than 

 the male, being some fifteen inches long. The sparrow-hawk 

 builds a nest of her own, although she sometimes uses as a 

 foundation the remains of a crow or rook nest. As many as six 

 eggs may be laid in May at intervals of two days. The sparrow- 

 hawk, unlike the kestrel, is a great nuisance, for its chief food 

 is game and young poultry, amongst which it is especially de- 

 structive when it has a brood of young. The meal is eaten on 

 the ground, the sparrow-hawk requiring both feet to secure its 

 prey. They hunt along hedgerows and wood-sides, and devour 

 also large numbers of small birds. 



The White-tailed Eagle (Hcdiaetus alhicilla). — Of the two 

 eagles found in Great Britain the white-tailed or sea-eagle is 

 that most often met with. It is this species that is recorded 

 as the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetus) every now and then in 

 the southern counties. The two species are readily distinguish- 

 able by the structure of the legs and feet. The sea-eagle has 

 the leg above the foot devoid of feathers, and the toes with a 

 single row of scales all the way down ; the golden eagle has the 



